“What happened over there?” Yamaguchi Saki asked, confused.
“I don’t know, but if they’re that noisy, it’ll affect us here, too. I’ll go ask,” Director Hayano Akemi said, throwing up her hands before heading over.
“I’ll go take a look, too.” Yamaguchi Saki followed.
Seeing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri couldn’t just stand there alone, so she followed the two of them over.
They quickly arrived at the TV drama crew’s location. Before they even got close, they heard people shouting a name in panicked voices—Chiba Rumi.
“What’s going on?” Hayano Akemi grabbed an acquaintance and asked.
The person looked back, their expression complicated. “It seems like Chiba Rumi… drowned.”
Hayano Akemi’s eyes widened.
Yamaguchi Saki immediately covered her mouth, unable to believe the news.
They quickly learned the specifics.
Apparently, a short while ago, the crew had planned to shoot a swimming scene and sent the female lead, Chiba Rumi, into the sea. But for some unknown reason, Chiba Rumi, who knew how to swim, suddenly sank into the ocean. By the time everyone frantically dived in and found her, Chiba Rumi had already stopped breathing.
Was it an accident?
Regardless, this matter dealt a huge blow to everyone, and many people completely lost their composure.
Before long, the police arrived. They took away Chiba Rumi’s body and brought the entire crew in for questioning. The beach suddenly became desolate and quiet.
Because the incident with Chiba Rumi had dragged on for a long time, it was already quite late. The sky could be seen growing somewhat dim, clouds churning incessantly on the horizon.
With the sun gone due to the late hour, and Yamaguchi Saki in low spirits, there was no way the ad production crew could continue filming the commercial today.
“Let’s stop here for today. We’ll come back to shoot the ad tomorrow,” Hayano Akemi said to the dejected Yamaguchi Saki.
Yamaguchi Saki nodded, saying listlessly, “I understand.”
Hayano Akemi patted Yamaguchi Saki’s shoulder. “Yamaguchi, will you be able to pull yourself together by tomorrow?”
Yamaguchi Saki forced a smile and said, “Of course I can. After all, I’m an actress, too.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri hadn’t expected something like this to happen. She was currently sitting under a beach umbrella, drinking a beverage.
Leona was floating nearby, sighing. “I can’t believe Chiba Rumi is dead. I heard she even collaborated with Yamaguchi-san before. I wonder if this incident will affect her. Ruri, don’t you feel anything?”
Tsukiyomi Ruri shook her head and said, “First of all, I don’t know this Chiba Rumi. Secondly, I’ve seen too many dead people already. A simple death really doesn’t cause much of an emotional change in me.”
“You Reincarnators are truly terrifying beings. Can you see dead people all the time?” Leona muttered.
“Do Ghosts rarely see the dead? I mean, you are a ghost. Shouldn’t you be used to the dead by now?” Tsukiyomi Ruri said, looking at Leona.
“Not at all. Ever since I became conscious, the only beings I’ve ever encountered are other ghosts—until I met the people in the Demon Spirit Group,” Leona shook her head and sighed.
Upon hearing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri felt something was off. After thinking for a moment, she asked, “Wait, where you come from, ghosts only ever see other ghosts? Then how do you usually cultivate? Don’t you need to absorb fear to cultivate?”
Leona replied helplessly, “Exactly. So it’s normally very hard for us to cultivate. We can only try to scare newly formed ghosts to harvest some fear. Ghosts that have been around for a long time are really hard to frighten.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri: “……”
Life’s not easy for ghosts these days.
Looking up, Tsukiyomi Ruri saw Yamaguchi Saki waving at her from a distance.
“Yamaguchi-san is calling me over. I’m going.” Tsukiyomi Ruri stood up, dusting the sand off her bottom, and added, “Now that there’s no sun, you don’t need to hide in my shadow anymore, right?”
“Mm-hmm, I can move around freely now. The gloomier the sky, the better it is for me,” Leona replied, bobbing her head in agreement.
Looking at Yamaguchi Saki waving ahead, Tsukiyomi Ruri walked over.
Yamaguchi Saki said to her, “I’m sorry, Tsukiyomi-san. I never expected such a thing to happen here. Although it wasn’t our crew, Chiba-san’s death has really affected my mood, so the ad shoot has to be postponed.”
“It’s fine. We can shoot it another day. My schedule is very open,” Tsukiyomi Ruri replied.
“Hmm, we plan to shoot it tomorrow. According to the weather forecast, starting the day after tomorrow, it’ll be overcast for many days. So tomorrow is the last chance; we can’t delay any further,” Yamaguchi Saki said, a hint of worry in her voice.
“Shooting the entire ad in one day tomorrow? Is there enough time?” Tsukiyomi Ruri asked.
“The ad isn’t very long to begin with. One day is enough for the filming part. But, just in case, we should still come early tomorrow. So…” Yamaguchi Saki paused for a moment, then continued, “Tsukiyomi-san, to make sure nothing goes wrong tomorrow, why don’t you stay at my house tonight? We can go together.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri: “……”
Yamaguchi Saki took Tsukiyomi Ruri’s hand and said, “It’s all for the sake of the ad. I’ll contact your parents and try my best to get their permission.”
“I’m living alone at the moment; I can decide for myself,” Tsukiyomi Ruri explained.
Living alone?
Yamaguchi Saki was stunned. For a girl like Tsukiyomi Ruri, who looked so small, she instinctively assumed she’d be the type cherished by a family. She truly hadn’t expected Tsukiyomi Ruri to live alone.
“Your parents… could it be…” Yamaguchi Saki’s eyes widened, as if she’d thought of something unfortunate.
Seeing the change in Yamaguchi Saki’s expression, Tsukiyomi Ruri seemed to realize what she was thinking and explained, “My parents are just traveling abroad.”
“Oh, oh, I see.” Yamaguchi Saki let out an awkward laugh, then asked, “So, about staying at my place, Tsukiyomi-san, do you agree?”
Tsukiyomi Ruri hesitated, then instinctively turned to look off into the distance. She saw the ghost in the black JK uniform floating in the air, mouthing the words “Say yes,” “Say yes,” over and over.
It wasn’t a difficult thing to accept, and Leona wanted her to agree, so after thinking it over, Tsukiyomi Ruri decided to consent.
“That’s great. Oh, right, let’s go change out of these swimsuits first,” Yamaguchi Saki said, pulling Tsukiyomi Ruri by the hand toward the changing room.
The process of changing clothes goes without mention.
